ATER  BAPTISM 
'ARD     SUPPER 

INSTITI.'TliiNS  M| 


IKW    OF    TV 

BY 

WILLIAM  BLACKLEY,  A.M., 

VICAR  OF  STANTON,  ENGLAND.  AND  CHAPLAIN  TO  LORD  HILL. 


INTRODUCTORY  AY 


THOMAS    KIM  Hi 


W    YORK: 
WILLIAM    WOOD   &    ('OMTAXY 


WATER  BAPTISM 

AND  THE 

OUTWARD     SUPPER 

NO  INSTITUTIONS  OF  CHRIST. 
A    REVIEW    OF    TWO    ESSAYS 

BY 

WILLIAM  BLACKLEY,  A.M., 

LATE  VICAR  OF  STANTON,  ENGLAND,  AND  CHAPLAIN  TO  LORD  HILL. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

BY 

THOMAS  KIMBER 


NEW  YORK: 
WILLIAM  WOOD   &   COMPANY, 

1884. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


THE  accompanying  Review  of  William  Blackley's  Essays, 
on  the  so-called  Ordinances  of  Water  Baptism  and  the  out- 
ward Supper,  appeared  in  the  columns  of  Friends'  Review 
about  four  years  ago ;  and  a  small  edition  was  also  published 
at  that  time  for  special  circulation. 

Their  presentation  of  the  whole  subject  seems  to  have 
been  generally  satisfactory,  confirming  the  convictions  of 
many  earnest  inquirers  after  the  "  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus"; 
and  proving  useful,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  in  dispelling 
the  doubts  of  others  in  regard  to  these  interesting  and  im- 
portant questions. 

It  is  with  no  thought  of  controversy  with  any  of  our  fellow- 
professors  of  the  Christian  name,  who  may  entertain  different 
views  of  that  truth  from  those  here  presented,  that  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  republish  these  essays  at  this  time. 

On  every  hand  there  seems  to  be  a  wide  inquiry  for  the 
Scriptural  arguments  in  favor  of  those  spiritual  doctrines  of 


our  Lord  and  Saviour's  Baptism,  and  of  His  holy  commu- 
nion with  His  redeemed  followers,  which  have  always  been 
accepted  and  proclaimed  by  that  branch  of  His  church  to 
which  we  belong. 

More  especially  amongst  those  who  of  latter  time  have 
been  awakened  through  the  instrumentality  or  under  the 
influence  of  Friends,  there  are  many  who  are  longing  for 
more  definite  information  upon  these  distinguishing  points 
of  faith. 

It  is  not  enough  to  tell  such  earnest  inquirers  that  these 
are  the  "  settled  principles  "  of  our  Religious  Organization, 
and  that  our  Fathers  lived  and  died  in  their  full  belief  and 
enjoyment. 

Nor  would  it  satisfy  the  honest-hearted  seeker  after  truth 
to  recommend  him  to  rest  his  faith  upon  the  convictions  of 
our  early  Friends  as  a  sufficient  authority,  or  upon  the 
belief  of  many  thousands  since  their  day,  save  so  far  as 
we  can  prove  to  him  that  their  judgment  was  founded  upon 
the  supreme  authority  of  the  revealed  word  and  truth  of  the 
Lord,  as  contained  in  His  Holy  Scriptures. 

To  them  therefore  is  the  appeal  made  in  these  essays, 
and  their  authority  alone  is  referred  to  and  relied  upon,  as 
decisive  of  the  questions  under  consideration. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  "  is  the  only  ipse  dixit  of  any  avail, 
in  the  consideration  of  Divine  truth. 

If  indeed  we  believed  that  our  Saviour  commissioned 
His  disciples  to  baptize  with  water  those  who  accepted  His 
gospel  and  trusted  in  His  name  for  salvation,  or  that  He  had 
established  an  outward  ordinance  to  be  perpetually  observed 
in  His  church,  in  lieu  of  the  Jewish  Passover  feast  (fulfilled 
and  abolished  by  His  death),  on  which  occasion  bread  was 
to  be  broken  and  wine  drunk,  in  continued  memorial  of 
Him,  then  these  are  the  very  things  we  would  long  to  do  ; 
and  to  do  them  not  only  with  unquestioning  submission  but 
in  loving  and  joyful  obedience  to  His  commands. 

But  if,  after  an  earnest  and  prayerful  study  of  His  own 


declarations  as  to  the  spirituality  of  His  kingdom,  compar- 
ing Scripture  with  Scripture  as  He  did,  construing  the  text 
"  //  is  written  "  by  the  context  "  if  is  written  again"  and  after 
carefully  examining  those  portions  of  the  Sacred  Record 
which  are  accepted  as  authority  for  such  ritualistic  practices, 
we  were  led  to  an  entirely  different  interpretation  of  His 
meaning,  then  our  duty  would  be  simply  to  follow,  in  the 
light  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  the  truth  which  He  had  so  clearly 
unfolded  and  to  rejoice  in  the  liberty  wherewith  that  truth 
had  made  us  free. 

It  is  because  we  have  thus  arrived  at  the  assured  convic- 
tion that,  in  this  bright  noonday  of  Christ's  gospel,  these 
outward  types  and  ceremonies  are  no  longer  enjoined  upon 
His  people,  and  that  it  is  His  will  that  they  should  forever 
give  place  to  the  glorious  realities  which  they  were  intended 
to  foreshadow,  that  we  have  gladly  accepted  the  spiritual  bless- 
ings that  have  followed  their  fulfilment  and  dismissal,  and 
have  willingly  seen  all  these  shadows  flee  away  in  the  ever- 
lasting light  of  the  Lord. 

Such  was  the  "new  revelation  of  the  good  old  gospel,"  as 
they  called  it,  which  our  forefathers  rejoiced  in  more  than 
two  centuries  ago.  Others  had  proclaimed  those  truths  long 
before  them,  and  have  done  so  since  their  day.  Many  of  the 
Confessors  of  the  early  Church,  and  of  the  Martyrs  and  Re- 
formers of  its  later  history,  have  with  greater  or  less 
clearness,  looked  far  over  these  ritualistic  ceremonies  and 
hailed  the  arising  of  a  bright  truth  beyond  them  all. 

John  Bradford,  for  example,  of  Waltham  College,  Oxford, 
who  suffered  martyrdom  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  during  the  persecutions  under  the  reign  of  Queen 
Mary,  for  his  faithfulness  to  the  "  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus," 
boldly  denied  that  Water  Baptism  formed  any  part  of  that 
truth. 

In  a  sermon  entitled  "  One  Baptism"  he  makes  use  of 
these  words: 


"  That  God  did  send  John  to  '  baptize  with  water,' 
is  admitted ;  but  I  deny  that  Christ  ever  did  send 
any  one  to  baptize  with  water.  This  is  coming  to 
the  point ;  here  I  stand,  and  challenge  any  man  to 
show  me  when  and  where  Christ  ever  commanded 
any  one  to  baptize  with  water." 

William  Dell,  Master  of  Caius  College,  Cambridge,  declared 
a  century  later  that : 

"  The  Baptism  of  Christ  is  with  the  Spirit ;  and  is 
the  only  baptism  of  the  New  Testament.  Its  out- 
ward instrument  is  not  material  water,  but  the 
Word,  as  Christ  shows  when  He  says,  '  Teach, 
baptizing ' ;  showing  that  the  teaching  of  the  Word 
is  the  outward  means  of  baptizing  with  the  Spirit." 

Then  again,  a  glance  at  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Church  will  show  that  the  endless  controversies  about  these 
so-called  "  Sacraments,"  have  been  productive  of  continual 
divisions  in  the  Body  of  Christ,  and  even  of  grievous  wars 
and  persecutions  among  His  professed  followers  in  all  ages ; 
and  that  they  are  bearing  the  bitter  fruit  of  separation  and 
estrangement  among  brethren,  even  in  our  own  day. 

Christians,  who  seem  able  to  unite  on  all  the  cardinal 
truths  of  the  gospel  and  in  most  earnest  efforts  to  spread 
the  kingdom  of  their  one  Lord  and  Master  over  the  earth, 
seem  to  become  alienated  from  one  another  whenever  these 
vexed  questions  are  introduced. 

The  Baptists,  for  example,  deny  the  validity  of  the  form  of 
sprinkling,  practised  by  the  Presbyterian  and  Methodist 
Churches  in  Baptism;  and,  for  the  most  part,  they  exclude 
from  their  communion  supper  all  who  have  not  submitted 
to  the  rite  of  immersion  in  water. 

The  Episcopal  Church  rejects,  as  uncanonical  and  irregu- 
lar, the  ritualistic  ceremonies  of  each  and  all  of  these  bodies, 
because  not  performed  by  an  authorized  priesthood ;  while 
the  Roman  Catholics,  far  out-numbering  them  all,  equally 


7 

condemn  the  Baptism  and  the  Communion  Supper  of  all 
the  Protestant  sects,  as  alike  heretical  and  offensive ;  and 
point  to  the  "holy  water,"  and  to  the  "  mass,"  as  the  only 
means  of  salvation. 

Surely  if  His  own  test  of  all  divine  authority  and  commis- 
sion be  true  of  these  ritualistic  ceremonies,  "  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them"  then  they  could  hardly  have  been  or- 
dained by  our  loving  Lord  and  Saviour,  for  the  purpose 
of  drawing  together  and  building  up  His  church,  which 
they  seem,  in  all  ages,  to  have  divided  and  confused  ;  evi- 
dently through  some  perpetual  and  universal  misunderstand- 
ing of  His  teachings  concerning  them. 

Turning  now  to  the  argument  in  favor  of  these*  Jewish 
rites,  drawn  from  the  observance  of  them  by  our  Lord  Him- 
self, it  will  be  found  that  there  is  nothing  in  His  example* 
in  these  respects,  intended  to  encourage  His  followers  in 
their  adoption  ;  far  less  to  impress  upon  them  the  obligation 
of  such  ceremonials,  as  Christian  ordinances. 

He  came,  as  He  declared,  "  not  to  destroy  the  law  or  the 

*  Abbe  Fleury,  in  reciting  the  customs  of  the  Jews,  as  affirmed  by 
their  celebrated  historian,  Maimonides,  adds  these  interesting  thoughts . 
"  It  will,  I  doubt  not,  be  a  pleasure  to  the  reader  to  trace  out  the  origin 
of  Christian  Baptism  ;  and  of  the  ancient  ceremonies  which  the  church 
observed  in  it.  For  they  are  all  borrowed  from  the  Jews;  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  apostles  not  having  thought  fit  to  abolish  them,  or  to  substi- 
tute new  ones  in  their  room." 

He  then  describes  the  Jewish  reception  of  converts.  "The  second 
ceremony  was  Baptism;  which  must  be  performed  in  the  presence  of 
three  Jews  of  distinction."  "  At  the  time  of  the  performance  of  it  the 
Proselyte  declares  his  abhorrence  of  his  past  life;  and  that  it  was  neither 
ambition  nor  avarice,  but  a  sincere  love  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which  pre- 
vailed on  him  to  be  baptized.  He  promised  at  the  same  time  to  lead  a 
holy  life;  to  worship  the  true  God,  and  to  keep  His  commandments.' 
"  And  hence,"  continues  the  Abbe,  "the  Christian  Church  botrowed 
those  ceremonies  that  she  makes  use  of,  for  it  is  manifest  that  the  insti- 
tution of  baptism  and  the  discipline  of  the  Primitive  Church  in  regard 
to  it,  have  relation  to  those  of  the  Jews."  "  Manners  of  Ancient  Israel , 
ites." — Fleury. 


8 

prophets,  but  to  fulfil  them."  And  when  John  the  Baptist 
was  sent,  "  baptizing  with  water  for  this  very  cause  that  the  Son 
of  God  should  be  made  manifest  to  Israel"  (John  i.  31-34), 
the  Lord  Jesus  presented  Himself  to  the  last  of  the  Prophets 
concerning  Him,  that  this  ceremonial  of  the  law  might  also 
be  at  once  interpreted  and  "fulfilled,"  before  the  usher- 
ing in  of  His  own  more  spiritual  dispensation.  No  marvel 
that  the  faithful  Ambassador  shrank  from  such  a  perform- 
ance on  his  King,  as  an  immersion  in  the  waters  of  the  Jor- 
dan, to  which  great  multitudes  of  the  publicans  and  sinners 
were  gladly  submitting  in  order  to  repentance.  "  /  have 
need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee,  and  earnest  Thou  to  me?"  (Matt, 
iii.  14-15.)  "  Suffer  it  now"  meekly  replied  his  holy  Lord, 
"for  thus  itbecometh  us,  to  fulfil  all  righteousness  "  (all  legal 
righteousness  literally).  "  Then  he  suffered  it." 

Having  thus  "  fulfilled  the  law,"  in  this  respect  also,  not 
indeed  through  any  instrumentality  of  the  Jewish  priesthood, 
but  by  the  hands  of  His  own  anointed  Forerunner,  who  tes- 
tified to  the  people  that  while  he  himself  "  baptized 'with 
water"  this  One  would  "baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  fire"  our  Lord  proceeded  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  of 
the  immediate  coming  of  His  spiritual  kingdom.* 

It  is  wonderful  to  observe,  under  how  many  figures  He 
endeavored  to  unfold  His  meaning. 

To  the  Master  in  Israel, 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  (John  iii.  5.) 

*  One  of  the  most  learned  of  living  Biblical  commentators,  Professor 
"Westcott,  thus  confirms  this  statement : 

"The  work  of  the  Baptist  included  the  crowning  rite  of  the  Old 
Covenant."  .  .  .  "  It  was  fitting  alike  for  him,  as  the  faithful  Prophet 
of  the  Advent,  and  for  Christ,  as  the  Subject  to  the  Law  "  (italics  West- 
cott's),  "to  fulfil  every  rite  sanctioned  by  God — the  perfect  righteous- 
ness of  the  Jewish  Covenant."  "  And  thus,  at  this  point  of  their  contact, 
the  form  of  the  New  was  shaped  by  the  rules  of  the  Old  ;  and  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit  for  Christ's  work  on  earth  was  connected  with  a  legal  ob- 
servance." [Westcott's  "Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Gospels," 
p.  316-317-] 


To  the  woman  at  the  well  of  Samaria : 

"  Whosoever  drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again.  But  whosoever 
drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  never  thirst;  but  the 
water  that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water,  springing 
up  into  everlasting  life."  (John  iv.  13,  14.) 

On  the  "last  great  day  of  the  feast,"  more  than  a  year 
before  He  was  offered  up,  He  stood  and  cried  saying, 

"  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me  and  drink."  .  .  .  "This 
He  spoke  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe  on  Him  should  receive." 
(John  vii.  37,  39-) 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and 
drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you. 

"  Whoso  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life; 
and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and 
my  blood  is  drink  indeed. 

"  He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and 
I  in  him." 

"  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the  Father,  so  he 
that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me."  (John  vi.  53-57.) 

With  these,  and  many  other  such  illustrations,  our  Lord 
sought  to  impress  upon  His  followers  the  spirituality  of  His 
gospel  dispensation. 

At  last  came  the  parting  lesson,  the  fulfilment  of  the 
ceremonial  of  the  last  Passover  feast  with  His  disciples  ;  in 
which  he  explained  to  them,  as  fully  as  they  were  able  to 
bear  it,  that  He  was  the  "  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world"  whom  this  solemn  festival  was  intended  to  com- 
memorate ;  that  it  was  not,  in  reality,  the  sprinkled  blood 
of  the  lambs  of  old,  upon  the  doorposts  of  the  Israelites,  that 
had  turned  away  the  destroying  angel  from  their  homes ;  but 
His  own  precious  blood,  offered  in  covenant,  according  to  the 
Eternal  purpose  of  the  Father  before  the  world  was  ;  and 
now  about  to  be  shed,  in  fulfilment  of  that  ever-lasting 
covenant,  as  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 

"  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body,"  that  was  broken  for  you.  "  This  is 
my  blood  of  the  new  covenant,  that  was  shed  for  many  for  the  remission 
of  their  sins." 

"  Having  dwelt  so  fully,  in  the  Review  appended,  upon 


10 

the  details  of  this  memorable  occasion,  I  would  only  refer 
the  reader  to  the  following  pages  for  the  scriptural  narratives 
that  are  on  record,  of  all  that  transpired  at  that  last  supper  of 
our  Lord. 

May  the  remembrance  of  His  dying  love  be  ever  present 
with  us  all  ;  and  as  He  "  stands  at  the  door  of  our  hearts  and 
knocks,"  may  we  gladly  "  hear  his  voice  and  open  the  door," 
that  He  may  "  come  in  and  sup  with  us  and  we  with  Him." 
(Rev.  Hi.  20.) 

And  so,  dwelling  even  here  in  His  holy  and  unbroken  com- 
munion, may  He  grant  to  us  all  who  love  His  appearing,  that 
we  shall  gather  at  the  last  around  His  marriage  supper  table 
above,  clothed  in  the  wedding  garment  of  His  righteous- 
ness, to  drink  forever  with  Him  of  the  new  wine  of 
His  kingdom. 

THOMAS  KIMBER. 
RICHMOND  HILL,  L.  I.,  N.  Y.. 
Fourth  Month,  1884. 


REVIEW 

OF 

WILLIAM  BUCKLEY'S  ESSAYS, 

ENTITLED 

"  WATER  BAPTISM  AND  THE  OUTWARD  SUP- 
PER,  NO  INSTITUTIONS  OF  CHRIST," 


It  is  especially  interesting  to  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  to  notice  that  the  great  truths  of  Christian  Baptism 
and  of  the  Holy  Communion  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  with 
His  redeemed  followers,  are  claiming  the  attention  of  influ- 
ential members  and  ministers  of  other  Christian  denomina- 
tions ;  and  that  some  of  their  ablest  and  most  earnest  think- 
ers seem  to  be  awakening  to  the  conviction  of  the  entire 
spirituality  of  these  essential  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  as  not 
necessarily  connected  with  any  outward  observance  or  ritual 
whatsoever. 

There  have  been  many  evidences  of  this  growing  convic- 
tion of  latter  time.  Very  recently,  the  utterances  of  Dean 
Stanley,  of  Westminster,  have  awakened  attention  and  in- 
terest ;  not  only  in  that  influential  branch  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  which  he  represented,  but  throughout  the  Christian 
community,  in  which  he  was  well  known  ;  and  they  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  expression  of  many  thoughtful  minds  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 


12 


There  have  appeared,  in  England,  two  pamphlets,  from 
the  pen  of  "William  Blackley,  late  Vicar  of  Stanton  and 
Chaplain  to  Lord  Hill"  which  seem  to  deserve  more  than  a 
passing  notice. 

One  is  entitled  "  Water  Baptism,  neither  instituted  by 
Christ,  nor  practised  by  the  Apostles  "  j  the  other,  "  The  Two 
Sacraments,  so-called,  no  Institutions  of  Christ'' 

The  authority  to  which  their  author  solely  appeals  is  indi- 
cated by  the  texts  printed  on  the  title  page  : 

"  Search  the  Scriptures." 
"  To  the  Law  and  to  the  Testimony" 

In  the  preface,  we  read  : 

"  The  following  observations  are  submitted  to  Members 
and  Ministers  of  Christian  Churches,  in  the  hope,  and  with 
the  sincere  desire,  that  they  may  be  helpful  to  the  right  un- 
derstanding of  the  subjects  referred  to." 

Sharing  this  earnest  desire,  I  have  thought  that  they 
might  be  especially  helpful  at  this  time  to  any  "  ministers  or 
members  "  of  our  own  branch  of  the  Church  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  who  may  have  become  unsettled,  in  any  de- 
gree, as  to  the  spirituality  of  His  gospel  and  His  worship  in 
these  important  respects. 

He  goes  on  to  say,  in  the  preface  : 

"  In  treating  of  the  subject  brought  forward,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  water  baptism  of  John  has  not  been  referred 
to  further  than  as  temporary  ;  as  introductory  to  the  Chris- 
tian system,  but  as  forming  no  part  of  it.  Commencing 
among  the  Jews  as  it  did,  it  appears  to  have  been  carried  on 
among  them,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  till,  and  only  till, 
the  gospel  was  formally  proclaimed  to  the  Gentiles.  .  .  . 
Every  instance  of  baptism  which  we  read  of  taking  place 
by  a  servant  of  the  Lord  after  that  glorious  event  was  by 
or  in  connection  with  St.  Paul ;  and  the  author  thinks  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  baptism  which  he  administered 
was  the  same  baptism  which  the  twelve  were  sent  to  ad- 
minister, which  was  not  a  baptism  of  water  " 


13 

He  adds  :  "  People  generally  take  it  for  granted  that 
when  the  word  baptize  occurs,  water  is  always  involved  ; 
but  this  is  a  mistake.  Witness  the  following  instances, 
where  a  baptism,  without  water,  is  spoken  of,  and  that  be- 
fore the  day  of  Pentecost. 

'  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
fire.' 

'  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with,  and  how  am  I 
straitened  till  it  be  accomplished.'  'Can  ye  be  baptized 
with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with  ?  '  '  With  the 
baptism  that  I  am  baptized  withal,  shall  ye  be  baptized.' 

"  These  passages  show  that  baptism  might  and  did  take 
place  without  the  use  of  water." 

"After  the  day  of  Pentecost,  a  reference  is  frequently 
made  to  a  baptism  without  water.  And  such  is  the  case 
with  reference  to  the  ' one  baptism]  the  only  one  baptism 
spoken  of  in  Eph.  iv.  5  ("  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism  "), 
involving  a  state  which  all  have  to  be  the  subjects  of  who 
become  God's  accepted  and  adopted  children,  and  which 
was  attained,  and  which  is  still  attained,  by  faith  only." 

"  The  expressions  used  in  connection  with  this,  that  it  was 
a  'resurrection  from  the  dead  and  from  eternal  condemna- 
tion ;  '  that  in  it  persons  were  '  buried  with  Christ  unto 
death ; '  that  on  persons*  washing  themselves,  that  is,  wash- 
ing by  faith,  in  the  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  un- 
cleanness,  they  become  '  sanctified  and  justified  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  spirit  of  our  God,  were  after- 
wards unfortunately  applied  to  the  rite  of  water  baptism, 
with  which  they  had  nothing  to  do.'  "  He  adds  :  "  In  what 


*  The  expression,  "  Ye  are  washed,  Ye  are  sanctified,  "  etc.  (ist  Cor. 
vi.  li),  should  he  rendered,  "  Ye  washed  yourselves  ;"  so  the  redeemed 
in  Heaven  "  -washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."  The  fountain  is  open,  and  we  may  all  obey  the  command, 
"  -wash  you,  make  you  clean"  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by 
the  Spirit  of  our  God." 


14 

way  and  when  this  was  first  done  we  cannot  say.  All  docu- 
mants  are  lost  which  could  throw  light  upon  it.  There  can 
be  no  question,  however,  that  it  commenced  very  early. 
Indeed,  St.  Peter  seems  to  intimate  that  it  took  place  in 
Apostolic  times,  by  stating,  as  he  does,  that  Baptism,  the 
'  Baptism  that  saved,'  was  '  not  a  putting  aw  ay  of  the  filth  of  the 
flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  towards  God,'  that 
it  was  not  a  ritual  baptism,  but  a  spiritual  one,  not  an  out- 
ward baptism,  but  an  inward  one.  In  whatever  way,  how- 
ever, it  was  introduced,  we  learn  from  Tertullian,  that  it  was 
early  opposed,  and  have  also  proof  from  Scripture,  as  the 
author  thinks,  that  it  was  not  instituted  by  Christ."  [See 
preface,  pp.  vii.,  viii.] 

I  have  given  these  copious  extracts  from  the  Introduction 
to  this  English  clergyman's  treatise,  because  it  seems  to  me, 
under  all  the  circumstances,  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
publications  that  have  yet  appeared  upon  this  important  sub- 
ject, and  because  the  Scriptural  evidence  in  their  support 
that  follows  throughout  the  next  sixty  pages  seems  to  sus- 
tain the  fearless  and  positive  assertions  of  the  preface, 
which  have  been  quoted. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not  from  the  pages 
of  Fox,  or  Penn,  or  Barclay,  musty  perhaps  with  the  neg- 
lect of  years,  though  heavy  with  the  weight  of  two  centuries 
of  undisputed  authority,  that  I  am  quoting  ;  nor  from  the 
graceful  essays  of  Joseph  John  Gurney ;  nor  from  the  close 
logical  argument,  almost  amounting  to  a  mathematical 
demonstration,  of  Enoch  Lewis,  on  the  true  nature  of 
Scriptural  baptism. 

Valued  as  all  these  treatises  are,  and  conclusive  as  we 
hold  them  to  be,  on  the  subject  under  consideration,  yet 
such  outside  testimony  as  this  pamphlet,  from  the  pen  of  a 
Minister  of  the  Established  Church  of  England,  all  of  whose 
proclivities  and  preconceived  opinions  must  have  inclined 
him  to  a  different  conclusion,  is  especially  valuable  ;  sup- 
ported as  it  is  by  critical  examinations  of  the  original  text 


of  Holy  Scripture  and  the  collation  of  various  passages 
therefrom,  bearing  on  the  subject  under  consideration. 

It  comes,  too,  just  at  this  time  with  a  peculiar  interest 
and  with  a  corroborative  power,  that  no  authorized  exposi- 
tions of  the  "  faith  of  the  gospel,"  as  held  by  the  Society  of 
Friends,  could  possibly  exert. 

With  all  the  collateral  views  that  the  writer  gives  expres- 
sion to,  or  even  with  all  the  processes  of  thought  which 
have  led  him  to  the  clear  truth  which  he  arrives  at  and  pro- 
claims at  last,  our  readers  may  not  entirely  agree,  nor  is  it 
at  all  needful  that  they  should.  Enough  remains  of  purely 
Scriptural  demonstration,  link  by  link  slowly  connected, 
step  by  step  carefully  taken,  at  first  to  render  tenable,  and 
finally  to  establish,  his  position  and  to  rivet  the  chain  of 
evidence  by  which  it  is  firmly  upheld  and  surrounded. 
Whether  therefore  he  is  correct  or  not,  in  believing  that 
after  Peter's  baptism  of  the  household  of  Cornelius,  followed 
by  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  Gentiles, 
none  of  the  Apostles  ever  baptized  with  water,  although 
Philip  the  Evangelist  and  others  not  possessing  the  Apos- 
tolic commission  and  power  of  "laying  on  of  hands"  may 
have  done  so,  cannot  be  certainly  proved,  and  the  question 
is  not  material  to  the  conclusion  he  arrives  at. 

He  clearly  shows  that  the  hold  which  the  Jewish  ritual 
possessed  on  the  hearts  of  that  people  was  so  strong  that,  for 
years  after  their  conversion,  "  many  thousands  "  (literally, 
many  tens  of  thousands)  still  held  zealously  to  the  forms  of  the 
law,  although  accepting  the  provisions  of  the  gospel,  by  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  quoting  the  well-known  words  of 
the  Apostle  James  and  the  Elders  at  Jerusalem  to  Paul,  who 
had  been  narrating  to  them  the  wonderful  works  the  Lord 
had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles,  and  over  which  they  re- 
joiced. Acts  xxi.  20. 

This  was  about  A.D.  60,  or  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
after  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  fallen  on  the  as- 
sembled Church,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Hence  it  is  clear 


i6 

that  the  Lord  permitted  the  gradual  "  increase "  of  the 
spiritual,  and  the  "decrease"  of  the  ritual  worship  and 
usage,  rather  than  to  compel  any  sudden  disruption  of  old 
association  and  practice  in  matters  of  detail — a  gradual 
change  which  John  the  Baptist  had  foreshadowed  when  he 
declared  :  "  He  "  (who  '  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  fire")  "must  increase;  but  I"  (who  'baptize  with 
water ')  " must  decrease" 

He  shows  also  that  baptism  by  water  had  no  saving  virtue 
by  the  examples  of  Simon  the  sorcerer,  and  the  penitent 
thief  on  the  cross  ;  "  that  the  latter  had  a  work  of  grace 
wrought  in  his  heart,  and  became  thereby  the  subject  of  the 
'  baptism  that  saves ,'  though  not  the  subject  of  water  baptism, 
while  Simon,  although  having  been  baptized  with  water,  was 
still  '  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity  ; ' ' 
that  "  Simon  had  no  vital  union  with  Christ,  though  the  sub- 
ject of  water  baptism,  while  the  penitent  thief  on  the  cross 
was  in  Christ,  and  delivered  from  condemnation,  although 
the  subject  of  no  water  baptism." 

He  says  :  "  Wherever  baptism  is  spoken  of  as  vital,  as  life- 
giving,  as  involving  spiritual  power,  it  always  has  reference 
to  a  work  of  grace  in  the  heart,  as  produced  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  independent  of  any  rite  or  outward  act."  Again  : 
"  To  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (according  to  Gal.  iii.,  27), 
was  to  be  ' baptized  into  Christ'  .  .  .  And  as  there  is  but 
' one  baptism1  in  the  Christian  system  [Eph.  iv.  5]  which  is 
not  a  baptism  with  water,  the  baptism  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul, 
namely,  l into  Christ,'  must  be  the  ' one  baptism,'  the  only  bap- 
tism, the  "baptism  that  saves'  "  (pp.  26,  27). 

Several  pages  of  the  pamphlet  are  devoted  to  an  interest- 
ing and  unanswerable  exposition  of  the  Scriptural  meaning 
of  the  word  water,  as  applied  to  our  salvation,  that  it  is  purely 
figurative  ;  and  that  every  beautiful  simile  made  use  of — 
"the  fountain,"  the  "washing  of  water  by  the  Word,"  "being 
born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,"  the  "sprinkling  clean  water 
upon  us  that  we  may  be  clean,"  the  "  washing  us  "  that  we 


may  be  "  whiter  than  snow  " — all  point  to  the  blessed  effi- 
cacy of  the  Word  (or  Gospel)  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  cleansing  power  of  His  precious  blood,  applied  by  His 
Holy  Spirit. 

The  pamphlet  on  baptism  closes  with  a  summary  of  twenty- 
six  propositions  which  the  author  considers  he  has  proved 
on  Scripture  authority.  I  give  a  few  of  them,  in  conclusion 
of  this  article,  reserving  a  review  of  his  essay  on  the  true 
spiritual  nature  of  the  communion  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  for  another  paper.  He  affirms  as 
established : 

ist.  "That  the  two  passages,  Matt,  xxviii.  10-20,  and 
Mark  xvi.  16,  are  no  authority  for,  and  contain  no  reference 
to  the  rite  of  witer  baptism,  which  now  prevails  in  Christen- 
dom." 

"Go  ye  therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations; 
baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  commanded  you  :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  [R.V.  Matt,  xxviii.  20.] 

"And  he  said  unto  them — Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  whole  creation.  He  that  believeth, 
and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved  :  he  that  believeth  not,  shall 
be  condemned."  [R.V.  Mark  xvi.  16.] 

2d.  "That  not  one  of  the  four  Gospels,  nor  any  one  of 
the  Epistles  of  any  of  the  Apostles,  contains  any  reference 
to  the  institution  of  Water  Baptism,  as  a  rite  for  observance 
in  the  Christian  Churches." 

7th.  "  That  St.  Peter  seems  to  repudiate  the  idea  of  water 
baptism  containing  any  virtue,  by  stating  that  the  '  baptism 
that  saved'  was  '  not  the putting-away  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but 
the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  towards  God. ' ' 

loth.  "That  St.  Paul,  by  showing  that  there  is  only  'one 
baptism'  in  the  Christian  system,  and  also  that  there  is  a 
baptism  of  a  spiritual  or  inward  nature,  repudiates  the  ex- 
istence of  water  baptism  as  an  institution  of  Christ." 


i8 

2ist.  "  That  the  twelve  Apostles  themselves  were  the  sub- 
ject of  no  water  baptism,  but  that  of  John;  which  shows 
that  Water  Biptism  was  not  required  in  the  Christian  system.' 

zjd.  "  That  the  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  a  spiritual 
reality,  independent  of  any  rite  or  outward  ceremony;  justi- 
fication or  acceptance  with  God,  being  attained  by  the  ex- 
ercise of  faith  in  Christ ;  and  faith,  where  it  is  justifying  or 
saving,  is  of  the  operation  of  God,  working  by  love,  and  puri- 
fying the  heart;  proving  the  truthfulness  of  the  teaching  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  that  'the  Father  seeketh  those  to  worship 
Him  who  worship  Him  in  Spirit  and  in  Truth.'  " 

I  have  thought  that  a  brief  Review  of  this  remarkable 
treatise  might  prove  of  use  to  some  souls  :  and  humbly  ask 
the  Lord's  blessing  on  its  careful  perusal.  T.  K. 

1880. 


"THE   OUTWARD   SUPPER   NO 
INSTITUTION   OF  CHRIST." 

In  regard  to  the  institution  by  our  blessed  Redeemer,  of 
such  an  outward  ordinance  as  the  so-called  Lord's  Supper, 
to  be  observed  thereafter  in  His  church  by  His  command, 
Wm.  Blackley  is  equally  clear  and  emphatic  in  the  entire 
denial  of  any  Scriptural  warrant  for  such  a  dogma  ;  reject- 
ing altogether  the  obligation  of  its  customary  observance,  or 
of  the  doctrine  itself,  save  in  its  true  spiritual  significance. 

His  argument  on  this  subject  affords  a  strong  confirmation 
of  the  soundness  and  the  accuracy  of  the  spiritul  interpreta- 
tion which  our  Fathers  placed  upon  the  teachings  of  the 
Divine  Records,  on  this  most  interesting  and  important 
subject — the  true  and  living  communion  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  with  His  Church  and  people. 

It  commences,  as  did  the  treatise  on  baptism,  by  showing 
that,  primarily,  the  commission  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  was 
understood  by  His  Apostles  to  be  to  "  preach  the  gospel  "  to 
the  Jews,  "  beginning  at  Jerusalem"  and  afterwards  the  full 
scope  of  His  world-wide  and  gracious  purpose  of  salvation 
was  unfolded  to  them,  and  gradually  comprehended  by  them  ; 
that  these  glad  tidings  were  also  to  be  proclaimed  "  to  all 
nations,"  when  the  "  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  should  come 
in." 

Accordingly  we  find  (Acts  iii.  25,  26),  Peter  and  John  de- 
claring, in  the  porch  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  "  Ye  are  the 
children  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the  covenant  which  God 
made  with  our  fathers."  ..."  Unto  you,  first,  God,  having 
raised  up  His  Son  Jesus,  sent  Him  to  bless  you  ;  in  turning 
away  every  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities." 


Wm.  Blackley  does  not  think  that  this  delay  in  preaching 
the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles  arose  from  any  failure  of  the  apos- 
tles to  comply  with  the  requisitions  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
poured  out  on  them  so  abundantly  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  ; 
and  Who  undoubtedly  unfolded  to  them  the  will  of  their 
Lord  and  Master  in  this  respect ;  but  that  it  was  a  part  of 
the  Divine  economy  which  we  may  not  question,  and  was 
especially  in  accordance  with  the  prophecies  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. 

When  the  clear  purposes  of  the  Lord,  in  this  respect,  had 
been  accomplished,  and  the  Scripture  had  been  fulfilled,  then 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  opened  in  all  its  fulness,  as  he 
believes,  to  the  Gentiles  ;  at  the  time  of  the  conversion  of 
the  household  of  Cornelius,  and  the  formal  acceptance  of 
this,  to  them,  wonderful  truth,  by  the  Apostles  and  brethren 
that  were  in  Jerusalem.  (See  Acts  x.  and  xi.) 

In  the  mean  time,  and  even  for  years  after  that  event,  Jew- 
ish observances  were  allowed,  as  memorials,  in  the  church; 
only  the  full  and  clear  recognition  was  insisted  on,  that  the 
types  and  shadows  of  the  law  were  all  fulfilled  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  Whom  they  had  pointed ;  and  in  honor 
of  Whom  alone,  they  were  still  permitted  to  be  retained  in 
their  worship. 

Among  these  the  most  prominent  was  the  PASSOVER  SUP- 
PER, hitherto  eaten  in  commemoration  of  the  passing  over, 
by  the  destroying  Angel,  of  the  houses  of  the  Israelites — on 
whose  doorposts  and  lintels  was  sprinkled  the  blood  of  the 
slain  lamb.  But  from  the  date  of  the  actual  offering  up  of 
the  "  Lamb  of  God,"  who  had  been  slain  in  covenant  "  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,"  this  feast  was  to  be  kept  by 
the  believing  Jews  "  in  remembrance  of  Him;"  of  His  broken 
body,  and  of  His  precious  blood  shed  for  the  remission  of 
their  sins. 

Our  author  believes  that  this  toleration  was  permitted  in 
that  wise  and  gentle  ordering,  which  sought  less  the  sudden 
uprooting  of  cherished  institutions  than  their  gradual  change; 


21 

provided  their  immediate  adaptation  to  the  Christian  system 
was  recognized  and  enforced. 

On  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  however,  when  by  the 
annihilation  of  the  temple  and  consequently  of  its  worship 
a  new  era  was  to  commence  in  the  history  of  the  Church, 
all  these  ceremonials  and  ritualistic  observances  were  to 
cease.  He  quotes  in  support  of  this  explanation  Dr.  Mac- 
knight,  Dr.  Doddridge,  Adam  Clark,  and  other  learned  and 
pious  Bible  commentators. 

With  still  greater  authority,  the  words  of  James,  and  of  the 
other  Elders  of  Jerusalem,  are  referred  to — addressed  (A.D. 
60)  to  the  Apostle  Paul  (Acts  xxi.  20):  "  Thou  sefst,  brother, 
how  many  thousands  (tens  of  thousands  literally,  myriads),  of 
the  Jews  there  are  who  believe,  and  they  are  all  zealous  of  the 
law,"  to  prove  the  wide  toleration  among  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians of  many  legal  observances  and  ceremonies,  even  at  that 
late  day.  Yet  we  have  already  seen  (Acts  xv.  23-29)  that  these 
same  Apostles  and  Elders,  seven  years  before,  had  enjoined 
in  no  doubtful  terms,  that  none  of  these  things  should  be 
laid  upon  the  Gentile  converts  :  proving  that  outward  cere- 
monies formed  no  part  of  the  gospel  dispensation. 

Coming  now  to  the  various  narratives  by  the  four  Evan- 
gelists of  the  last  Passover  Supper,  which  the  Lord  Jesus 
ate  with  His  disciples  "  on  the  night  in  which  He  was  be- 
trayed," Wm.  Blackley  reminds  us  that  "Only  two  were  present 
on  that  occasion"  of  which  they  each  give  some  description 
in  detail ;  and  that  these  two  alone  were  qualified  to  declare, 
as  eye  witnesses,  what  then  actually  took  place,  the  Apostles 
Matthew  and  John  ;  and  that  "  neither  of  these  make  any 
allusion  whatever  to  such  an  ordinance  having  been  then  insti- 
tuted for  observance  by  Christ 's followers  in  after  times" 

"  Surely,"  he  says,  "  if  Christ  had  instituted  any  new  ordi- 
nance, these  two  Apostles,  who  were  present  on  the  occasion, 
would  have  stated  it,  and  stated  it  so  clearly  and  distinctly 
as  to  leave  no  cause  for  doubt  upon  the  subject.  But  so  far 


22 

from  that  being  the  case,  it  evidently  appears,  from  both  of 
these  Evangelists,  that  nothing  of  the  kind  occurred." 

"  In  reference  to  John,  we  find  him  stating  nothing  beyond 
the  usual  Passover  being  kept  by  Jesus  and  His  disciples  j  a 
plain  proof,  as  I  think,  that  he  knew  of  nothing  ocurring, 
which  had  reference  to  any  new  institution." 

"  All  that  he  says,  in  connection  with  what  took  place,  is 
the  following"  :  (See  John  xi.  55;  xiii.  1-30.) 

The  reader  will  see,  on  reference  to  Chapter  xiii.,  that 
verses  i  to  17  relate  solely  to  the  washing  of  the  disciples' 
feet,  and  the  injunction  of  their  Lord  and  Master  to 
wash  one  another's  feet.  "  For  I  have  given  you,"  said 
He,  "an  example,  that  as  I  have  done  to  you,  ye 
also  should  do :"  an  emphatic  injunction,  which  however 
nearly  all  Protestant  Christians  agree  in  construing  spiritually 
only.  Then  follow  (verses  17  to  31)  the  separation  of  Judas 
from  the  other  Apostles  by  the  clear  designation  of  their 
Lord,  that  this  was  the  one  who  was  about  to  betray  Him; 
afterwards  He  foretold  also  the  approaching  denial  by 
Peter." 

In  the  following  chapters  of  John's  Gospel  are  given  those 
loving  conversations  with  His  disciples,  which  have  com- 
forted the  hearts  of  so  many  believers  since  that  day ;  and 
have  brought  them  indeed  into  sweet  and  holy  communion 
with  their  dying  Lord. 

Little  was  spoken  of  Himself,  or  of  the  agony  He  was 
about  to  endure  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  that  very 
night,  when  with  the  weight  of  the  world's  sins  upon  Him, 
He  would  fall  upon  His  face  and  cry  out,  "  Oh  my  Father, 
if  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me — nevertheless  not 
my  will,  but  Thine  be  done."  He  knew,  even  at  that  mo- 
ment of  His  supreme  devotion,  that  the  thoughts  of  His 
disciples  were  chiefly  as  to  who,  after  His  departure,  should 
be  the  greatest ;  that  before  morning  they  would  all  forsake 
Him  and  fly ;  yet  all  His  thoughts  were  of  their  sorrow  and 
for  their  comfort ;  "  having  loved  His  own  which  were  in 


23 

the  world,  He  loved  them  to  the  end."  He  told  them  not 
to  let  their  hearts  be  troubled  ;  He  was  going  to  prepare 
mansions  for  them,  and  would  come  again  and  receive  them 
to  Himself;  and  in  the  mean  while  He  would  send  another 
Comforter,  even  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  who  would  abide  with 
them  forever,  and  would  unfold  all  things  to  them  as  they 
were  able  to  bear  them,  and  would  lead  them  into  all  truth. 
Then  came  that  wonderful  prayer  for  them,  and  "  for  all 
those  who  should  believe  on  Him  through  their  word." 

I  think  that  no  true  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  has 
been  redeemed  by  His  precious  blood,  and  for  whom  He 
prayed  on  that  memorable  night,  can  ever  read  from  the 
fourteenth  to  the  seventeenth  chapters  of  that  Gospel,  without 
feeling  renewedly  a  sweet  and  holy  fellowship  with  Him  in 
His  sufferings  ;  and  an  overwhelming  sense  of  gratitude  for 
His  wondrous  love. 

To  return  to  W.  Blackley's  argument: 

"  If  Jesus  had  instituted  any  new  ordinance  to  be  kept  by 
His  followers  in  all  after  times,  it  was  clearly  incumbent  on 
John  to  have  stated  it,  since  his  not  stating  it  would  leave 
the  people  for  whom  he  wrote  imperfectly  instructed,  in 
what  they  were  to  attend  to,  especially  as  he  professed  to 
write  for  their  instruction,  and  states  (John  xx.  31)  that  what 
he  wrote  was  written  .that  persons  might  '  believe  that  Jesus 
was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that,  believing  they 
might  have  life  through  His  name.'  Not  a  word  occurs  in 
John's  gospel  about  any  new  ordinances  being  then  insti- 
tuted by  Christ.  Nothing  is  stated  in  connection  with  any 
new  institution  to  be  kept  by  His  followers  "  (pp.  13  to  21). 

Referring  now  to  the  account  of  the  last  Passover  Supper 
as  given  by  Matthew,  W.  B.  shows  that  "We  shall  find  in 
it  no  reference  to  any  new  ordinance  instituted  on  that  oc- 
casion by  Christ."  He  gives  in  detail  Matthew's  narrative 
(Chapter  xxvi.  i,  2,  and  17-30),  as  follows  : 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished  all  these  sayings,  he 
said  unto  his  disciples,  Ye  know  that  after  two  days  is  the  feast  of  the 
passover,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  to  be  crucified.  .  .  . 


24 

Now  the  first  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  the  disciples 
came  to  Jesus,  saying  unto  him,  Where  wilt  thou  that  we  prepare  for 
thee  to  eat  the  passover?  And  he  said,  Go  into  the  city  to  such  a  man, 
and  say  unto  him,  The  Master  saith,  My  time  is  at  hand  ;  I  will  keep 
the  passover  at  thy  house  with  my  disciples.  And  the  disciples  did  as 
Jesus  had  appointed  them  ;  and  they  made  ready  the  passover.  Now 
when  the  even  was  come,  he  sat  down  with  the  twelve.  And  as  they  did 
eat,  he  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me. 
And  they  were  exceeding  sorrowful,  and  began  every  one  of  them  to 
say  unto  him,  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  And  he  answered  and  said,  He  that  dip- 
peth  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me.  The  Son 
of  man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  him  :  but  woe  unto  that  man  by  whom 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  !  it  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not 
been  born.  Then  Judas,  which  betrayed  him,  answered  and  said,  Master 
is  it  I  ?  He  said  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said. 

And  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  bread  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it, 
and  gave  zVto  the  disciples,  and  said,  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body.  And  he 
took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  all 
of  it :  For  this  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for  many 
for  the  remission  of  sins.  But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  hence- 
forth of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with 
you  in  my  Father's  kingdom.  And  when  they  had  sung  a  hymn,  they 
went  out  into  the  mount  of  Olives." 

W.  B.  shows  that  on  this  occasion  the  Lord  Jesus  blessed 
not  the  bread,  but  God,  gave  thanks  more  literally,  and  thus 
there  is  no  authority  for  consecrating  the  wafer. 

He  also  clearly  proves  that  the  phrase  rendered  "  This 
is  my  body"  merely  signifies  "  This  represents  my  body  ;  that 
the  Greek  verb  (esti)  is  continually  so  used ;  notably  in  Matt, 
xiii.  37,  38,  where  it  occurs  in  this  sense  six  times  in  these  two 
verses:  "the  field  is  (represents)  the  world,"  "the  good 
seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom,"  "  the  tares  are  the 
children  of  the  wicked  one,"  "  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the 
world."  So  also  in  its  variations,  "  that  rock  was  Christ," 
represented  Christ  (i  Cor.  x.  4),  etc.,  etc. 

How  completely  this  simple  explanation,  which  any  one 
may  verify,  disposes  of  all  the  controversies  and  schisms  in 
the  Christian  church  in  past  ages  on  this  weary  dogma  of 
the  "  real  presence" 


25 

Then  how  plain  is  the  whole  intent  of  our  blessed  Re- 
deemer in  thus  partaking  of  this  last  supper  with  His  disci- 
ples. He  had  eaten  the  passover  feast  again  and  again  with 
them,  in  obedience  to  the  Jewish  law,  and  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  great  deliverance  in  Egypt  centuries  before. 
And  now  it  was  fitting  that  he  should  explain  to  them  the  full 
meaning  of  this  solemn  ceremony;  that  He  was  the  Paschal 
Lamb,  and  that  this  broken  bread  represented  His  body,  and 
the  flowing  wine  His  blood. 

Wm.  Blackley  says  : 

"Was  it  not  natural  for  Him  to  refer  to  Himself  as  being 
the  Antitype  of  the  broken  cake  and  of  the  wine  ;  pointing 
out,  as  those  things  did,  the  great  atoning  sacrifice  which  He 
was  about  to  make  for  human  transgression,  and  which  the 
slain  lamb,  and  broken  bread,  and  poured-out  wine  fore- 
shadowed, and  referred  to  in  His  words,  '  This  represents 
my  body  ;'  and  again  when  He  said,  '  This  represents  my 
blood  of  the  new  covenant,  which  is  being  shed  for  remis- 
sion of  sins.' 

"  Here,  then,  in  Matthew's  statement  of  what  occurred  at 
the  passover,  as  well  as  in  that  of  John  (the  only  two  out  of 
the  four  Evangelists  who  were  present  with  Christ  on  the 
occasion,  and  they  Apostles),  we  see  no  trace  of  the  institu- 
tion of  any  new  ordinance  to  be  kept  by  Christ's  followers  in  all 
future  time.'' 

The  narrative  of  Mark  is  next  taken  up,  and  shown  to  be 
almost  identical  with  that  of  Matthew,  and  to  give  no 
information  whatever  of  any  new  institution  on  the  Lord's 
part.  Here  is  the  whole  record  of  that  occasion,  by  this 
Evangelist.  (Chap.  xiv.  12-26.) 

"  And  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread.'when  they  killed  the  passover, 
his  disciples  said  unto  him,  Where  wilt  thou  that  we  go  and  prepare, 
that  thou  mayest  eat  the  passover  ?  And  he  sendeth  forth  two  of  his 
disciples,  and  saith  unto  them,  Go  ye  into  the  city,  and  there  shall  meet 
you  a  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water  :  follow  him.  And  wheresoever 
he  shall  go  in,  say  ye  to  the  good  man  of  the  house,  The  Master  saith, 
Where  is  the  guest-chamber,  where  I  shall  eat  the  passover  with  my  dis- 


26 

ciples  ?  And  he  will  show  you  a  large  upper  room  furnished  and  pre- 
pared :  there  make  ready  for  us.  And  his  disciples  went  forth,  and 
came  into  the  city,  and  found  as  he  had  said  unto  them:  and  they  made 
ready  the  passover.  And  in  the  evening  he  cometh  with  the  twelve. 
And  as  they  sat  and  did  eat,  Jesus  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  One  of 
you  which  eateth  with  me  shall  betray  me.  And  they  began  to  be  sor- 
rowful, and  to  say  unto  him  one  by  one,  Is  it  I  ?  and  another  said,  Is  it 
I  ?  And  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  It  is  one  of  the  twelve,  that 
dippeth  with  me  in  the  dish.  The  Son  of  man  indeed  goeth,  as  it  is 
written  of  him  :  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  be- 
trayed !  good  were  it  for  that  man  if  he  had  never  been  born.  And  as 
they  did  eat,  Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  to 
them,  and  said,  Take,  eat  ;  this  is  my  body.  And  he  took  the  cup,  and 
when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  gave  it  to  them  :  and  they  all  drank  of  it. 
And  he  said  unto  them,  This  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which 
is  shed  for  many.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  drink  no  more  of  the 
fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  that  I  drink  it  new  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  And  when  they  had  sung  an  hymn,  they  went  out  into  the  Mount 
of  Olives." 

What  adds  to  the  interest  and  the  value  of  this  record  is 
the  fact  that  the  Gospel  by  Mark  is  undoubtedly  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Apostle  Peter,  who  was  also  present  at  this 
passover  supper,  and  the  omission  of  all  notice  of  any  new 
ordinance  in  the  Church  in  Mark's  narrative  is,  therefore, 
especially  important.* 

Our  author  proceeds: 

"  Thus  we  have  three  out  of  the  four  Evangelists  referring 
to  no  new  institution  of  breaking  bread  and  drinking  wine 
for  the  followers  of  Christ  to  be  the  subjects  of,  either  an- 
nually, quarterly,  monthly,  weekly,  late  at  night,  or  early  in 
the  morning.  If  Jesus  had  instituted  any  new  ordinance, 
it  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  would  have  been 

*  Dr.  William  Smith  says: — "Ancient  writers,  with  one  consent, 
make  this  evangelist  the  interpreter  of  the  Apostle  Peter."  (Papias, 
Irenaus,  Tertullian.}  So  the  "  Speaker's  Commentary,  p.  309.  West- 
cott,  in  his  "Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Gospels"  says:  "Papias 
was  himself  a  direct  hearer  of  John,  and  on  his  authority,  declares, 
"Mark  having  become  Peter's  interpreter,  wrote  accurately  all  that  he  re~ 
numbered"  "  For  he  took  heed  to  one  thing — to  omit  none  of  the  facts 
that  he  heard,  and  to  make  no  false  statement  of  them ." — T.  K. 


27 

specifically  and  clearly  stated  not  only  by  Matthew  and  John, 
but  by  Mark  also ;  but  as  neither  of  them  mentions  it,  the 
legitimate  and  fair  conclusion  is  that  He  instituted  no  new 
ordinance." 

"  The  only  remaining  Gospel  narrative  of  the  Last  Supper 
is  by  the  Evangelist  Luke,  who  was  not  present  on  the  occa- 
sion, but  was  generally  believed  to  have  drawn  his  informa- 
tion chiefly  from  the  Apostle  Paul,*  between  whose  state- 
ment, in  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  that  contained 
in  Luke's  Gospel,  there  is  a  remarkable  coincidence;  and  as 
marked  a  divergence  from  all  the  other  accounts  of  what 
took  place  upon  that  occasion." 

The  narrative  of  Luke  is  as  follows  (Chap.  xxii.  7-23): 

Then  came  the  day  of  unleavened  bread,  when  the  passover  must  be 
killed.  And  he  sent  Peter  and  John,  saying,  Go  and  prepare  us  the 

*  "  Luke  the  follower  of  Paul"  says  Irenseus,  "  set  down  in  a  book 
the  gospel  which  he  (Paul)  used  to  preach."  Tertullian  -speaks  of  Paul 
as  the  "  illuminator  of  Luke"  and  says,  "  the  summary  (digestum)  of 
Luke  was  generally  assigned  to  Paul."  So  also  Origen  and  Jerome. — 

Westcott's  Introduction, p.   185. 

Dr.  William  Smith  gives  the  above  quotation  from  Irenaeus,  and  adds 
that  "  both  Eusebius  and  Jerome  mention  the  opinion  that  when  St. 
Paul  used  the  words  according  to  my  gospel,  it  is  to  the  work  of  Luke  that 
he  refers."  Dr.  Smith  wisely  adds,  "  Although  St.  Paul's  words  refer, 
in  all  probability,  to  no  written  gospel  at  all,  but  to  the  substance  of  his 
own  inspired  preaching,  yet  it  is  important  as  showing  how  strong  was 
the  opinion,  in  ancient  times,  that  Paul  was  in  some  way  connected 
with  the  writing  of  the  third  gospel." — Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Vol.  II., 
p.  152. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  calls  attention  to  the  "  word  used  by  Luke 
i.  2 — '  delivered,'  and  its  correlative  word  '  received'  (i  Cor.  xi.  23;  xv. 
l),  as  of  frequent  use  in  the  New  Testament,  to  express  the  handing  on 
of  the  great  truths  of  evangelical  history  which  are  regarded  as  a  sacred 
deposit,  to  be  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation."  Also  that 
while  Luke  states  that  the  other  narratives  were  delivered  by  "eye-wit- 
nesses and  ministers  of  the  word,"  he  only  claims  for  himself  to  have 
"had  perfect  understanding"  of  them;  or  more  literally,  to  have 
"  traced  out  the  whole  history  from  the  beginning." — New  Testament, 

Vol.  I., p.  310.  T.  K. 


28 

passover,  that  we  may  eat.  And  they  said  unto  him,  Where  wilt  thou 
that  we  prepare?  And  he  said  unto  them,  Behold,  when  ye  are  entered 
into  the  city,  there  shall  a  man  meet  you,  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water;  fol- 
low him  into  the  house  where  he  entereth  in.  And  ye  shall  say  unto  the 
goodman  of  the  house,  The  Master  saith  unto  thee,  Where  is  the  guest- 
chamber,  where  1  shall  eat  the  passover  with  my  disciples?  And  he 
shall  show  you  a  large  upper  room  furnished;  there  make  ready.  And 
they  went,  and  found  as  he  had  said  unto  them:  and  they  made  ready 
the  passover.  And  when  the  hour  was  come,  he  sat  down,  and  the 
twelve  apostles  with  him.  And  he  said  unto  them,  With  desire  I  have 
desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  before  I  suffer.  For  I  say  unto 
you,  I  will  not  any  more  eat  thereof,  until  it  be  fulfilled  in  the  kingdom 
of  God.  And  he  took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  said,  Take  this, 
and  divide  it  among  yourselves.  For  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  of 
the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  come. 

And  he  took  bread,  and  gave  thanks,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  unto 
them,  saying.  This  is  my  body  which  is  given  for  you;  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me.  Likewise  also  the  cup  after  supper,  saying,  This  cup  is 
the  new  testament  in  my  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you. 

But,  behold,  the  hand  of  him  that  betrayeth  me  is  with  me  on  the 
table.  And  truly  the  Son  of  man  goeth,  as  it  was  determined;  but  woe 
unto  that  man  by  whom  he  is  betrayed  !  And  they  began  to  inquire 
among  themselves,  which  of  them  it  was  that  should  do  this  thing. 

William  Blackley  gives  Luke's  narrative  in  parallel  columns 
with  the  statements  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  shows  that 
the  principal  difference  between  them  consists  in  the  omis- 
sion of  the  words  "take,  eat"  which  are  mentioned  by  the 
other  two  Evangelists  as  having  been  uttered  by  our  Lord 
on  handing  the  bread  to  His  disciples;  and  instead  thereof 
He  is  represented  by  Luke  as  having  said,  "  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  me." 

[These  word's  in  Luke's  Gospel  are  now  considered  by  some  of  the 
best  scholars  to  have  been  added  since  the  date  of  earliest  manuscripts. 
Dr.  Davidson  (Halle),  in  the  "  Introduction  to  his  English  translation 
of  Von  Tischendorf's  New  Testament,"  has  these  remarkable  words  : 
"  Perhaps  Von  Tischendorf  might  have  carried  the  limitation  of  ancient 
testimony  farther  in  some  cases;  as  in  Luke  xxii.  19,  20  :  '  This  is  my 
body  [which  is  given  for  you;  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me.  Like- 
wise also  the  cup  after  supper,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament 


in  my  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you'];  where  the  words  bracketed  are 
hardly  original."  (London  Ed.,  pf.  xiii.) 

The  ancient  manuscript  "  Codex  Bezae  "omits  these  words  altogether. 

Clark  and  Goodwin,  of  Oxford,  in  their  "  Notes  on  the  literal  reading 
of  the  New  Testament,"  say,  "Some  versions  substitute  for  this  passage 
•verses  17  and  18,  which  they  omit  above.  Tregelles  thinks  that  such 
may  perhaps  be  the  hue  reading."  If  these  views  be  correct,  then  the 
only  shadow  of  Divine  Authority  for  a  continuance  of  this  observance 
disappears  from  all  the  Gospel  narratives. — T.  K.] 

In  handing  the  cup  also,  the  words,  "  Drink  ye  all  of  it, 
given  by  Matthew  and  Mark,  are  omitted  by  Luke,  although 
the  injunction  is  not  repeated  as  it  is  in  i  Corinthians  xi., 
"  Do  this,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  of  if,  in  remembrance  of  me." — 

PP-  3l~36- 

Just  at  this  point  it  is  important  to  consider  the  fact  to 
which  W.  B.  calls  attention  in  another  place  (p.  43),  that 
the  Greek  verb  (poieite) — rendered  "do"  in  the  passage 
"  This  do  " — and  which  is  supposed  thus  to  constitute  an  ab- 
solute command  of  our  Lord,  is  also  rendered  "  keep  "  in  re- 
gard to  this  very  Passover  Supper  which  He  was  eating  with 
His  disciples.  In  the  narrative  of  Matthew  (Chapter  xxvi. 
1 8)  our  blessed  Saviour  is  represented  as  sending  to  the 
owner  of  the  house  in  which  they  were  assembled  this  mes- 
sage, "  My  time  is  at  hand.  I  will  keep  (poio]  the  Passover 
at  thy  house  with  my  disciples."  The  same  verb  is  ren- 
dered "  observe  "  as  where  the  complaint  was  made  against 
Paul  and  Silas  before  the  Roman  authorities  at  Philippi,  that 
they  "  preached  customs  not  lawful  to  observe."  (Acts 
xvi.  21.) 

More  than  once  also  this  Greek  verb  is  translated  "  fulfil " 
in  the  New  Testament.  By  putting  the  word  keep  or  observe 
in  the  place  of  the  word  "  do"  as  rendered  in  our  transla- 
tion, the  meaning  becomes  entirely  clear  and  simple,  especi- 
ally when  considered  in  connection  with  the  declared  purpose 
of  our  Lord  to  "  keep  this  Passover  "  with  His  disciples  that 
night.  "  Keep  this,"  He  says,  "  in  remembrance  of  me." 
Ye  have  kept  it  hitherto  in  commemoration  of  the  paschal 


30 

lamb.  I  am  the  "  Lamb  of  God."  I  am  the  "  Passover 
sacrificed  for  you."  "  This  is  (represents)  my  body  that  is 
broken  for  you;  this  my  blood  that  was  shed  for  you.'' 

William  Blackley  says  :  "  From  Luke  then  we  learn  no 
more,  ...  as  to  any  new  ordinance  being  appointed  by  Christ 
for  His  after  disciples  to  be  the  subjects  of,  and  that  for- 
ever, than  we  do  from  Matthew,  Mark  and  John."  ..."  In 
concluding  our  notice  of  Luke's  statements,  it  should  not 
be  forgotten  that  Luke  wrote  his  Gospel  (as  he  himself  de- 
clares), to  inform  those  for  whom  he  wrote,  "  what  Jesus  did 
and  taught  until  the  day  in  which  he  was  taken  up."  (Acts 
i.  2.)  "Wherefore,  if  Jesus  instituted  a  new  ordinance,  and 
Luke  did  not  inform  them  of  it  (as  he  clearly  did  not),  he 
did  not  do  what  he  professed;  or  if  he  did  so  faithfully  do, 
then  Jesus  instituted  no  new  ordinance,  since  Luke  states 
nothing  that  authorizes  the  statement  that  He  did."  (P.  38). 

Our  author  proceeds: 

"  Having  thus  gone  through  the  four  gospels,  with  a 
view  of  finding  out  whether  there  is,  in  them,  any  authority 
for  the  ordinance  called  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  an  institution 
to  be  observed  by  all  Christ's  disciples  forever,  and  finding 
in  them  nothing  that  substantiates  anything  as  the  founda- 
tion of  such  an  ordinance,  we  may  further  remark,  that  out 
of  twenty-one  Apostolic  Epistles  to  different  churches  and 
persons,  besides  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  no  mention  is 
made  in  them  of  anything  like  such  an  ordinance,  but  that 
which  has  been  supposed  to  refer  to  it  in  one  Epistle,  namely, 
that  of  St.  Paul's  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  Surely  if 
any  such  ordinance  had  been  instituted,  it  would  have  been 
referred  to  in  every  one  of  these  Epistles,  and  have  been 
pressed  upon  the  attention  and  observance  of  all  those  to 
whom  these  Epistles  were  written.  In  no  one  of  them, 
however,  is  there  even  a  seeming  allusion  to  any  such  ordi- 
nance having  been  instituted,  as  that  which  Christ's  follow- 
ers had  to  observe,  but  in  the  fancied  instance  that  I  have 
referred  to.  o-e-v  , 


"This  surely  is  a  fact  sufficiently  significant  to  lead  Us  to 
infer  that  no  such  ordinance  was  ever  instituted,  as  well  as  to 
account  for  the  four  Evangelists  omitting  any  clear  and 
positive  evidence  in  respect  to  such  an  ordinance.  And 
with  this  remark,  and  after  having  examined  the  four  Gos- 
pels, as  they  have  been  supposed  to  refer  to  it,  and  finding 
in  them,  as  I  have  stated,  nothing  that  substantiates  the 
idea  of  any  new  ordinance  having  been  instituted  by  Christ, 
we  now  proceed  to  consider  the  statement  of  St.  Paul  in  his 
first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (Chap,  xi.)." 

It  would  be  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  this  essay, 
to  follow  the  complete  and  exhaustive  analysis  which 
William  Blackley  gives  in  detail  of  this  portion  of  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthian  Church.  It  is  mainly  founded  on 
historical  and  Scriptural  truth,  and  would  prove  very  inter- 
esting, and,  I  think,  generally  satisfactory  to  the  thought- 
ful reader,  especially  to  the  Bible  student  who  can  follow 
the  original  Greek  text,  quoted  on  all  the  most  delicate 
points. 

He  calls  attention,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  fact  that  Paul 
alludes  to  what  occurred  at  the  Passover  feast,  then  to  the 
conduct  of  the  Corinthian  believers  in  their  observances  in 
memorial  of  it,  and  thirdly,  a  recognition  of  what  he  saw 
would  take  place  for  a  time  in  such  memorial  observance, 
and  the  apostle's  directions  to  them  concerning  it.  He 
shows  that  Paul  states  our  Lord  to  have  used  the  words  at- 
tributed to  Him  in  the  narrative  of  Luke,  and  the  correct- 
ness of  which  he  does  not  call  in  question  :*  "  Take,  eat  ; 

*  Joseph  John  Gurney,  in  a  note  to  his  treatise  "  On  the  Disuse  of  all 
Typical  Rites  in  the  Worship  of  God"  (p.  150,  London  edition),  says  of 
this  passage,  I  Cor.  xi.  23d  :  "  For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  :  " 

"  That  commentators  are  by  no  means  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that 
an  immediate  revelation  is  here  intended  will  be  sufficiently  evinced  by 
the  following  short  abstract,  given  in  "  Pool's  Synopsis  "  of  the  remarks 
made  on  this  passage  by  certain  eminent  critics,  and  particularly  by 
Beza  ;  viz.  : 

"  It   may   be   doubted   whether    the   Apostle   learned    these    things 


32 

this  is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you  :  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me,"  with  the  further  words  on  taking  the  cup : 
"  Do  this  as  often  as  ye  may  drink  of  it  (osake  an  pinete),  in 
remembrance  of  me."  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and 
drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come." 

W.  B.  thinks  this  expression  implies  that  the  Passover 
Supper  would  be  kept  by  the  believing  Jews  until  the  de- 
struction of  the  temple  thirty-seven  years  afterward,  and  the 
dispersion  of  the  Jews  from  Jerusalem. 

He  shows  that  in  various  places  this  tremendous  judg- 
ment on  the  Jewish  people  was  spoken  of  by  our  Lord  Him- 
self as  "the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  his  kingdom  " 
(Matthew  xvi.  28) ;  as  the  "coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
with  power  "  (Mark  ix.  i);  and  as  "  seeing  the  kingdom  of 
God"  (Luke  ix.  27) ;  which  "coming  "  was  to  be  within  the 
lifetime  of  some  standing  by  Him  when  He  spoke. 

He   quotes,   in   further   confirmation   of   this   view,  the 

mediately,  from  those  who  were  eye-witnesses  and  ear-witnesses,  on  the 
narration  of  the  other  Apostles  ;  or  immediately,  by  revelation.  He 
learned  them  of  the  Lord  ;  that  is,  as  proceeding  from  the  Lord ;  the  in- 
formation being  given  to  him  by  Ananias,  or  the  other  disciples,  or  else  of 
the  Lord  by  revelation.  In  the  lattet  case,  however,  he  would  not  have 
said  apo,  \WL(.  para,  according  to  the  usage  of  Greek  authors  in  general,  of 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  in  particular,  and  more  especially  of 
Paul  himself." " 

J-  J-  G.  goes  on  to  say : 

"Other  commentators  understand  the  passage  in  a  still  more  general 
sense,  as  implying  only  that  the  matters  which  Paul  communicated  to 
the  Corinthians,  respecting  the  Lord's  Supper,  were  no  invention  of  his 
own,  but  rested  on  Divine  authority.  So  Camero  and  Calvin. 

"  Rosenmiiller,  one  of  the  most  able  and  impartial  of  modern  Biblical 
critics,  expresses  a  clear  judgment  that  no  direct  revelation  was  here 
alluded  to  by  the  Apostle."  [Vide  Schol.  in  N.  T.  in  loc.] 

Canon  Cook,  of  Exeter,  in  a  note  to  Luke  i.  2,  on  the  word  de- 
livered, says:  "The  original  verb,  and  its  correlative,  received  (i  Cor. 
xi.  23,  and  xv.  i)  are  of  continual  use.in  the  New  Testament,  to  express 
the  handing-on  of  the  great  truths  of  ecclesiastical  history,  which  are  re- 
garded as  a  sacred  deposit,  to  be  transmitted  from  generation  to  genera 
tion."  ["  Speaker's  Commentary,"  vol.  vii.,  p.  309.]  T.  K. 


33 

Words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  His  disciples  (Matt.  x.  23), 
"  Ye  shall  not  have  gone  over  the  cities  of  Israel  till  the  Son  of 
Man  be  come"  He  gives  the  appeal  of  the  disciples 
(Matt.  xxiv.  3),  "  Tell  us  when  shall  these  things  be,  and 
what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the 
age"  (literally),  and  the  answer  of  our  Lord,  showing 
clearly  that  there  was  to  be  a  "  coming  "  before  that  genera- 
tion should  have  passed  away,  when  "  all  these  things 
should  be  fulfilled,"  the  signs  whereof  He  gave  them  in 
great  detail  (4th  to  24th  verses).  He  reminds  us  of  the  re- 
ply of  our  Lord  after  His  resurrection  to  Peter's  question 
about  John  :  "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that 
to  thee,  follow  thou  me  ;  "  and  that  this  disciple  witnessed 
before  his  death  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  all  the 
ritual  of  the  temple  of  which  "  not  one  stone  was  left  upon 
another,"  the  annihilation  of  the  Jews  as  a  nation,  and  their 
dispersion  over  the  face  of  the  earth.*  This  "  coming  of 
the  Lord,"  in  judgment  to  the  Jews,  and  in  the  final  over- 
throw of  their  temple  worship,  around  which,  till  then,  some 
show  of  Divine  authority  might  have  seemed  to  rest,  W.  B. 
and  many  other  Bible  scholars,  believe  to  have  been  the 
period  ordained  for  the  termination  of  every  vestige  of 
their  ritual  ceremonies,  and  for  the  establishment  of  the 
universal  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ; 
till  which  time  they  were  permitted,  //  they  all  clearly 
pointed  to  Him  in  their  observance. 

In   common  with  our  Early  Friends,  and  with  the   au- 

*  Cannon  Farrar,  in  his  "Life  of  Christ"  speaking  of  our  Lord's 
answer  to  Peter  in  regard  to  his  beloved  disciple,  John — "  If  I  will 
that  he  tarry  till  I  come  " — thus  interprets  its  fulfilment  :  ' '  The  man- 
ner of  John's  death  we  do  not  know,  but  we  know  that  he  outlived  all 
his  brother  disciples,  and  that  he  survived  that  terrible  overthrow  of  his 
nation,  which  since  it  rendered  impossible  a  strict  obedience  to  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  Old  Covenant,  and  opened  throughout  the  world  an 
unimpeded  path  for  the  establishment  of  the  New  Commandment,  and 
the  Kingdom  not  of  earth,  was,  in  a  sense,  more  true  than  any  other 
event  in  human  history,  a  second  coming  of  the  Lord." — P.  462. 


•u 

thorized  exponents  of  the  "  faith  of  the  gospel,"  as  pro- 
claimed by  them,  we  may  all  unite  in  the  interpretation  of 
a  temporary  permission  of  Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies 
(thus  modified  so  as  to  acknowledge  their  fulfilment  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ)  until  the  establishment  more  fully  of 
His  spiritual  kingdom,  without  being  over-careful  to  desig- 
nate the  precise  time  at  which  that  toleration  was  intended 
to  cease. 

Enough  for  us  to  feel  assured,  as  our  Fathers  declared, 
that  the  time  has  fully  come  now ;  "  the  day  has  certainly 
dawned  ;"  and  that  they  are  "  seeking  the  living  among  the 
dead,"  who  are  still  raking  over  the  ashes  of  the  past,  or 
wandering  among  the  gravestones  of  buried  rites,  and  ful- 
filled types,  and  abrogated  ceremonies,  for  the  glorious 
spiritual  light  and  life  and  power  of  the  gospel  of  our  risen 
and  ascended  Lord  and  Redeemer. 

We  are  living  in  the  brightest  noon-day  of  that  gospel. 
"  Opon  Thou  our  eyes,"  that  we  may  rejoice  and  be  glad  in 
it,  and  "may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law,  Oh 
Lord." 

William  Blackley  proceeds: 

"  And  this  coming  of  our  Lord  (Matt,  xxiv.)  I  conceive  to 
be  the  event  referred  to  by  Paul,  under  the  expression  (ist 
Cor.  xi.  26),  "  till  He  come,"  or  more  literally,  "  till  He  may 
come  (achris  ou  an  elthe),  implying,  as  I  think,  that  the 
Passover  would  be  kept  till  the  Jewish  nation  would  be  dis- 
persed from  Palestine  .  .  .  and  that  when  the  Corinthian 
believers  kept  the  feast  they  called  the  Lord's  Supper,  in 
memorial  of  that  Passover,  during  the  same  period  they 
were  to  publish  and  "  show  forth  " — as  the  believing  Jews 
in  Jerusalem  would  do  at  the  Passover  kept  there — the 
Lord's  death  ;  that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  had  been 
given  and  shed  for  them,  as  an  atoning  sacrifice  for  procur- 
ing the  remission  of  the  sins  of  all  who  believe  in  Him." 
(Pp.  44-55-) 

It  appears,  by  the  narrative  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 


35 

(Chap,  xviii.  2,  4,  7,  8,  17,  24,  26,  xix.,  i),  that  many  of  the 
Corinthian  believers,  to  whom  this  Epistle  were  addressed, 
were  Jews;  and  doubtless,  in  the  continued  observance  of 
the  Passover  feast,  at  the  time  he  wrote.  But  there  were  also 
a  large  number  of  Gentile  converts ;  and  these  seem  to  have 
everywhere  engrafted  on  the  Christian  system  some  of  their 
Heathen  customs ;  only  directing  them,  as  best  they  could, 
to  the  honor  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  whose  name  they  had  be- 
lieved. 

Among  these  customs,  with  a  slight  change  of  name,  was 
doubtless,  the  agape,  or  love  feast ;  and  we  find  from  the 
early  Christian  writers  that  although  this  was,  at  first,  a  dif- 
ferent ceremonial  from  the  "Eucharist"  yet  it  soon  became 
mingled  with  it,  and  finally  merged  into  it.  Chrysostom 
tells  us  that: 

"After  the  early  community  of  goods  had  ceased,  the  richer 
members  brought  to  the  church,  contributions  of  food  and 
drink,  of  which,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  services  and  the 
celebration  of  the  Eucharist,  all  partook  together ;  by  this 
means,  helping  to  promote  the  principle  of  love  among 
Christians." 

Pliny  says  :  "  The  Christians  meet  and  exchange  sacra- 
mental pledges  against  all  sorts  of  immorality  ;  after  which 
they  separate,  and  meet  again  to  partake  together  in  an 
entertainment." 

Gradually,  these  practices  became  more  frequent,  and  in 
times  of  persecution,  when  hard  pressed  by  their  enemies, 
they  would  meet  in  secret  places,  in  the  galleries  and  crypts 
of  the  catacombs,  or  "  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,"  and 
solemnly  yet  joyfully  break  bread  together,  in  loving  remem- 
brance of  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  who  had  given  His  life 
for  them,  and  for  whose  dear  sake  they  were  ready  to 
lay  down  their  lives  also ;  a  pledge,  which  one  by  one,  many 
of  them  were  called  upon  to  redeem. 

William  Blackley  holds  the  same  view  which  Robert  Bar- 
clay takes,  in  his  masterly  argument  on  the  true  communion 


36 

of  the  "  body  and  blood  of  Christ,"  that  Paul  most  justly 
reproved  those  who  came  up  to  these  feasts  merely  to  gratify 
their  sensual  appetites,  and  while  some  were  left  "  hungry," 
others  were  "drunken"  with  excess;  and  he  solemnly 
showed  them  the  sacredness  of  the  origin  of  this  custom,  and 
warned  them  that  they  would  "  eat  and  drink  to  their  own 
condemnation,"  if  they  profaned  it,  urging  them  "  so  oft  as 
they  did  this,  to  do  it  in  remembrance  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

Indeed,  the  Apostle  gives  in  another  place  a  general  injunc- 
tion to  all  Christians,  that  "  whether  they  ate  or  drank,  or 
whatever  they  did,  they  should  do  all  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  to  the  glory  of  God." 

W.  B.  concludes  thus: 

"  We  think,  then,  we  may  say,  that  what  is  called  The 
Lor <f  s  Supper  (kuriakon  deipnon),  in  ist  Cor.  xi.  20,  involved 
nothing  which  was  to  be  kept  as  a  sacramental  ordinance  by 
Christ's  followers  ;  that  what  He  said  at  the  Last  Supper,  of 
something  being  done  in  His  remembrance,  was  only  a  direc- 
tion to  His  disciples,  when  they  should  keep  the  Passover, 
from  that  time  till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  to  '  do  it ' 
or  keep  it,  in  remembrance  of  Him ;  as  having  fulfilled  that 
which  was  represented  in  the  type." 

Finally,  William  Blackley  announces  these  truths  "  as  the 
result  of  the  examination  he  has  given  to  the  two  subjects 
referred  to,"  and  in  which  I  feel  sure  the  reader  will  heartily 
concur : 

"  That  Christianity  is  simple  faith  in  Christ,  leading  to 
holiness  of  heart  and  life,  independent  of  any  rite  or  ceremony 
whatever,  whether  of  water  baptism,  or  of  what  has  been  com- 
monly called,  but  without  Scriptural  authority  for  it,  The 
Lord's  Supper."*  That  is,  that  he  who  has  living  faith  in 

*  W.  B.  shows  that,  according  to  the  Syriac  Version,  this  may  be  ren- 
dered The  Lord's  Day  Supper,  and  "was  a  meal  on  that  day,  provided 
by  the  richer  classes  for  the  poorer  Christians,  who  were  obliged  to  ab- 
stain from  the  meats  offered  to  idols,  which  had  been  their  main  support." 
— Parkhurst. 


37 

Christ  "  shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  "  (John 
iii.  16);  that  he  who  "believes  in  Christ  shall  have  remission 
of  sins  "  (Acts  x.  43)  ;  that  those  who  become  the  children 
of  God  become  so  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  (John  i.  12;  Gal. 
iii.  26);  that  baptism  in  or  with  water  saves  no  one  from 
being  "  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  bond  of  iniquity  "  (Acts 
viii.  13,  21);  and  that  persons  may  eat  and  drink  what  they 
call  the  Lord's  Supper  "to  their  condemnation  "  (ist  Cor. 
xi.);  that  "  if  any  man  be  in  Christ  he -is  a  new  creature  " 
(2d  Cor.  v.  17);  that  nothing  "avails"  in  respect  to  any 
one's  being  a  Christian,  "  but  a  new  creation,"  literally  (Gal. 
vi.  15) ;  that  he  who  is  a  "  child  of  God  "  is  "  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  his  mind,"  and  "  puts  on  the  new  man,  which  after 
God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness"  (Eph. 
iv.  23,  24;  Col.  iii.  16).  "How  all  this,"  he  adds,  "justi- 
fies the  beautiful  lines  of  Cowper : 

' ' '  Oh  how  unlike  the  complex  works  of  man, 
Heaven's  easy,  artless,  unencumbered  plan. 
****** 

It  stands  like  the  cerulean  arch  we  see, 

Majestic  in  its  own  simplicity. 

Inscribed  above  the  portal,  from  afar 

Conspicuous,  as  the  brightness  of  a  star, 

Legible  only  by  the  light  they  give. 

Stand  the  soul-quickening  words— BELIEVE  AND  LIVE.'" 


I  trust  that  the  reader,  who  has  followed  carefully  the  out- 
line Review  that  has  been  attempted,  will  find  himself  repaid 
for  the  trouble  by  some  new  thoughts  or  suggestions,  and 
by  the  confirmation,  of  his  faith  in  the  spirituality  of  the 
G&spel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 

The  essay  may  also  meet,  in  part  at  least,  the  demand  on 
every  side,  especially  among  our  younger  members,  for 
Scriptural  confirmation  of  the  doctrines  of  Friends  in  these 
respects. 

I  will  only  add  that  the  experience  of  two  centuries  has 


38 

abundantly  confirmed  their  views  of  the  sufficiency  of  the 
"  one  baptism  "  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  of  the  preciousness 
of  the  "  communion,"  and  "  real  presence,"  spiritually  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  His  Church,  and  His  redeemed  fol- 
lowers. THOMAS  KIMBER. 

RICHMOND  HILL,  N.  Y.,  Second  month,  1880. 

Republished  Fourth  mo.,  1884. 


WJSB  LiBR/Utf 


